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Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center
ReliefPlot
  • See Also
    • ArrayPlot
    • ListPlot3D
    • ListContourPlot
    • ListDensityPlot
    • GeoGraphics
    • GeoElevationData
    • ReliefImage

    • Formats
    • USGSDEM
    • SDTSDEM
    • ArcGRID
  • Related Guides
    • Data Visualization
    • Geospatial Formats
    • See Also
      • ArrayPlot
      • ListPlot3D
      • ListContourPlot
      • ListDensityPlot
      • GeoGraphics
      • GeoElevationData
      • ReliefImage

      • Formats
      • USGSDEM
      • SDTSDEM
      • ArcGRID
    • Related Guides
      • Data Visualization
      • Geospatial Formats

ReliefPlot[array]

generates a relief plot of an array of height values.

Details and Options
Details and Options Details and Options
Examples  
Basic Examples  
Scope  
Data  
Presentation  
Options  
AspectRatio  
Axes  
AxesLabel  
Show More Show More
AxesOrigin  
AxesStyle  
BoxRatios  
ClippingStyle  
ColorFunction  
ColorFunctionScaling  
DataRange  
DataReversed  
Frame  
FrameLabel  
FrameStyle  
FrameTicks  
FrameTicksStyle  
ImageSize  
LightingAngle  
MaxPlotPoints  
Mesh  
MeshStyle  
Method  
PerformanceGoal  
PlotLegends  
PlotRange  
PlotRangeClipping  
PlotTheme  
Ticks  
TicksStyle  
Properties & Relations  
Possible Issues  
Neat Examples  
See Also
Related Guides
Related Links
History
Cite this Page
BUILT-IN SYMBOL
  • See Also
    • ArrayPlot
    • ListPlot3D
    • ListContourPlot
    • ListDensityPlot
    • GeoGraphics
    • GeoElevationData
    • ReliefImage

    • Formats
    • USGSDEM
    • SDTSDEM
    • ArcGRID
  • Related Guides
    • Data Visualization
    • Geospatial Formats
    • See Also
      • ArrayPlot
      • ListPlot3D
      • ListContourPlot
      • ListDensityPlot
      • GeoGraphics
      • GeoElevationData
      • ReliefImage

      • Formats
      • USGSDEM
      • SDTSDEM
      • ArcGRID
    • Related Guides
      • Data Visualization
      • Geospatial Formats

ReliefPlot

ReliefPlot[array]

generates a relief plot of an array of height values.

Details and Options

  • ReliefPlot[array] arranges successive rows of array up the page, and successive columns across.
  • ReliefPlot has the same options as Graphics, with the following additions and changes: [List of all options]
  • AspectRatio Automaticratio of height to width
    Axes Falsewhether to draw axes
    BoxRatios Automaticeffective 3D bounding box ratios
    ClippingStyle Nonehow to draw clipped parts of the surface
    ColorFunction Automatichow to determine the color of surfaces
    ColorFunctionScaling Truewhether to scale arguments to ColorFunction
    DataRange Automaticthe range of and values to assume for data
    DataReversed Falsewhether to reverse the order of rows
    Frame Truewhether to draw a frame around the plot
    FrameTicks Nonewhat ticks to include on the frame
    LightingAngle Automaticeffective angle of the simulated light source
    MaxPlotPoints Automaticthe maximum number of points to include
    Mesh Falsewhether to draw a mesh
    MeshStyle Automaticthe style for mesh lines
    Method Automaticthe method to use
    PerformanceGoal $PerformanceGoalaspects of performance to try to optimize
    PlotLegends Nonelegends for surfaces
    PlotRange {Full,Full,All}the range of values or other values to include
    PlotRangeClipping Truewhether to clip at the plot range
    PlotRangePaddingAutomatichow much to pad the range of values
    PlotTheme $PlotThemeoverall theme for the plot
  • In ReliefPlot[array], array must be a rectangular array, with each element a single real number representing a value.
  • There will be holes in the surface corresponding to array elements that do not represent explicit height values.
  • ReliefPlot[array] by default takes the and coordinate values for each data point to be successive integers starting at 1. Other coordinates can be specified using DataRange.
  • Possible settings for Method include "DiffuseReflection" and "AspectBasedShading".
  • With some settings for PerformanceGoal, other specific option settings may be overridden.
  • List of all options

    • AlignmentPointCenterthe default point in the graphic to align with
      AspectRatioAutomaticratio of height to width
      AxesFalsewhether to draw axes
      AxesLabelNoneaxes labels
      AxesOriginAutomaticwhere axes should cross
      AxesStyle{}style specifications for the axes
      BackgroundNonebackground color for the plot
      BaselinePositionAutomatichow to align with a surrounding text baseline
      BaseStyle{}base style specifications for the graphic
      BoxRatiosAutomaticeffective 3D bounding box ratios
      ClippingStyleNonehow to draw clipped parts of the surface
      ColorFunctionAutomatichow to determine the color of surfaces
      ColorFunctionScalingTruewhether to scale arguments to ColorFunction
      ContentSelectableAutomaticwhether to allow contents to be selected
      CoordinatesToolOptionsAutomaticdetailed behavior of the coordinates tool
      DataRangeAutomaticthe range of and values to assume for data
      DataReversedFalsewhether to reverse the order of rows
      Epilog{}primitives rendered after the main plot
      FormatTypeTraditionalFormthe default format type for text
      FrameTruewhether to draw a frame around the plot
      FrameLabelNoneframe labels
      FrameStyle{}style specifications for the frame
      FrameTicksNonewhat ticks to include on the frame
      FrameTicksStyle{}style specifications for frame ticks
      GridLinesNonegrid lines to draw
      GridLinesStyle{}style specifications for grid lines
      ImageMargins0.the margins to leave around the graphic
      ImagePaddingAllwhat extra padding to allow for labels etc.
      ImageSizeAutomaticthe absolute size at which to render the graphic
      LabelStyle{}style specifications for labels
      LightingAngleAutomaticeffective angle of the simulated light source
      MaxPlotPointsAutomaticthe maximum number of points to include
      MeshFalsewhether to draw a mesh
      MeshStyleAutomaticthe style for mesh lines
      MethodAutomaticthe method to use
      PerformanceGoal$PerformanceGoalaspects of performance to try to optimize
      PlotLabelNonean overall label for the plot
      PlotLegendsNonelegends for surfaces
      PlotRange{Full,Full,All}the range of values or other values to include
      PlotRangeClippingTruewhether to clip at the plot range
      PlotRangePaddingAutomatichow much to pad the range of values
      PlotRegionAutomaticthe final display region to be filled
      PlotTheme$PlotThemeoverall theme for the plot
      PreserveImageOptionsAutomaticwhether to preserve image options when displaying new versions of the same graphic
      Prolog{}primitives rendered before the main plot
      RotateLabelTruewhether to rotate y labels on the frame
      TicksAutomaticaxes ticks
      TicksStyle{}style specifications for axes ticks

Examples

open all close all

Basic Examples  (3)

Use elevation data to display shaded terrain:

Display density data with shading:

Show heights with a legend:

Scope  (14)

Data  (6)

By default, the and data ranges are taken to be integer values:

Provide explicit and data ranges by using DataRange:

Reverse the data range by using DataReversed:

Use MaxPlotPoints to limit the number of points used:

PlotRangeAutomatic can be used to drop the outlying area:

Specify explicit ranges:

Presentation  (8)

Add labels:

Shadings with no color:

Color the data by height:

Use predefined gradients:

Specify the direction where the simulated lighting is placed:

Specify the box ratios:

Use the "AspectBasedShading" method:

Provide overlay meshes:

Use automatic legends:

Use a theme with bold colors and simple ticks:

Options  (105)

AspectRatio  (4)

By default, the ratio of the height to width for the plot is determined automatically:

Make the height the same as the width with AspectRatio1:

Use numerical values to specify the height-to-width ratio:

AspectRatioFull adjusts the height and width to tightly fit inside other constructs:

Axes  (3)

By default, ReliefPlot uses a frame instead of axes:

Use axes instead of a frame:

Turn each axis on individually:

AxesLabel  (3)

No axes labels are drawn by default:

Place a label on the axis:

Specify axes labels:

AxesOrigin  (2)

The position of the axes is determined automatically:

Specify an explicit origin for the axes:

AxesStyle  (4)

Change the style for the axes:

Specify the style of each axis:

Use different styles for the ticks and the axes:

Use different styles for the labels and the axes:

BoxRatios  (3)

Automatically choose appropriate box ratios:

Make overall shading closely match 3D plots with the box ratios {1,1,5}:

Increasing the ratio produces more contrast in shading:

ClippingStyle  (4)

Clipped regions are not shown by default:

Color clipped regions like the rest of the plot:

Use pink to fill the clipped regions:

Use gray where the surface is clipped at the top and purple where it is clipped at the bottom:

ColorFunction  (6)

Shadings with no color:

Color by scaled coordinate:

Specify gray-level intensity by scaled coordinate:

Named color gradients color in the direction:

Use brightness to correspond to the height or density of a function:

Use the blend between two colors to indicate the height or density of a function:

ColorFunctionScaling  (1)

Scaled color functions may not be suitable for real-world elevation data:

Instead, use a nonscaled color function for accurate representation of the elevation:

DataRange  (2)

Arrays are displayed against the number of elements in each direction:

Rescale to the sampling space:

DataReversed  (1)

Reverse the range:

Frame  (4)

ReliefPlot uses a frame by default:

Use FrameFalse to turn off the frame:

Draw a frame on the left and right edges:

Draw a frame on the left and bottom edges:

FrameLabel  (3)

Place a label along the bottom frame of a plot:

Frame labels are placed on the bottom and left frame edges by default:

Place labels on each of the edges in the frame:

FrameStyle  (2)

Specify the style of the frame:

Specify the style for each frame edge:

FrameTicks  (9)

Frame ticks are not placed automatically by default:

Use a frame with frame ticks:

Use frame ticks on the bottom edge:

By default, the top and right edges have tick marks but no tick labels:

Use All to include tick labels on all edges:

Place tick marks at specific positions:

Draw frame tick marks at the specified positions with specific labels:

Specify the lengths for tick marks as a fraction of the graphics size:

Use different sizes in the positive and negative directions for each tick mark:

Specify a style for each frame tick:

Construct a function that places frame ticks at the midpoint and extremes of the frame edge:

FrameTicksStyle  (3)

By default, the frame ticks and frame tick labels use the same styles as the frame:

Specify an overall style for the ticks, including the labels:

Use different styles for the different frame edges:

ImageSize  (7)

Use named sizes, such as Tiny, Small, Medium and Large:

Specify the width of the plot:

Specify the height of the plot:

Allow the width and height to be up to a certain size:

Specify the width and height for a graphic, padding with space if necessary:

Setting AspectRatioFull will fill the available space:

Use maximum sizes for the width and height:

Use ImageSizeFull to fill the available space in an object:

Specify the image size as a fraction of the available space:

LightingAngle  (4)

By default, the simulated lighting is placed at , or the top-left corner, with altitude :

Place the light source at 180°, or the left side of the map:

Place the light source at 0°, or the right side of the map, with altitude:

The result with no shading:

MaxPlotPoints  (2)

ReliefPlot normally uses all the points in the dataset:

Limit the number of points used in each direction:

Mesh  (5)

No mesh is used by default:

Show the final sampling meshes:

Provide 8 meshes in each direction:

Mesh lines at specific positions:

Specify the style of each mesh line:

MeshStyle  (3)

Mesh lines are partially transparent by default:

Use red dashed lines for meshes:

Individually styled mesh lines can be used together with MeshStyle, and have higher priority:

Method  (2)

Normally, the "DiffuseReflection" method is used for shading:

Use the "AspectBasedShading" method:

PerformanceGoal  (2)

Generate a higher-quality plot:

Emphasize performance, possibly at the cost of quality:

PlotLegends  (6)

Use an automatic legend to show the heights:

No legend is used by default:

PlotLegends automatically picks up ColorFunction and ColorFunctionScaling values:

Use BarLegend to change legend appearance:

Add a legend to a plot using an unscaled color function:

Use Placed to change legend placement:

PlotRange  (5)

Normally, ReliefPlot uses all points to compute the range:

Automatically compute the range and clip extreme portions of it:

Use an explicit range and range to focus on areas of interest:

PlotRange interacts with DataRange:

Specify the range to emphasize features:

PlotRangeClipping  (1)

Clip the plot at PlotRange:

PlotTheme  (1)

Use a theme with no frame or axes:

Change the color function:

Ticks  (9)

Ticks are placed automatically in each plot:

Use TicksNone to draw axes without any tick marks:

Use ticks on the axis, but not the axis:

Place tick marks at specific positions:

Draw tick marks at the specified positions with the specified labels:

Use specific ticks on one axis and automatic ticks on the other:

Specify the lengths for ticks as a fraction of the graphics size:

Use different sizes in the positive and negative directions for each tick:

Specify a style for each tick:

Construct a function that places ticks at the midpoint and extremes of the axis:

TicksStyle  (4)

By default, the ticks and tick labels use the same styles as the axis:

Specify an overall tick style, including the tick labels:

Specify tick styles for each of the axes:

Use a different style for the tick labels and tick marks:

Properties & Relations  (3)

Some Import functions use ReliefPlot to display elevation maps with shaded relief:

Use GeoDensityPlot to color a map:

Use ArrayPlot3D for 3D arrays of data:

Possible Issues  (1)

Define two consecutive datasets:

Due to -value scaling, two results may not be consistent:

By specifying the same plot range, two results become consistent with each other:

Neat Examples  (2)

A sum of quotients of norms seen in relief:

Sample a sum of 5 sine waves in random directions:

See Also

ArrayPlot  ListPlot3D  ListContourPlot  ListDensityPlot  GeoGraphics  GeoElevationData  ReliefImage

Formats: USGSDEM  SDTSDEM  ArcGRID

Related Guides

    ▪
  • Data Visualization
  • ▪
  • Geospatial Formats

Related Links

  • An Elementary Introduction to the Wolfram Language : More Forms of Visualization

History

Introduced in 2007 (6.0) | Updated in 2012 (9.0) ▪ 2014 (10.0)

Wolfram Research (2007), ReliefPlot, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ReliefPlot.html (updated 2014).

Text

Wolfram Research (2007), ReliefPlot, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ReliefPlot.html (updated 2014).

CMS

Wolfram Language. 2007. "ReliefPlot." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2014. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ReliefPlot.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (2007). ReliefPlot. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ReliefPlot.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_reliefplot, author="Wolfram Research", title="{ReliefPlot}", year="2014", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ReliefPlot.html}", note=[Accessed: 01-March-2026]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2025_reliefplot, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={ReliefPlot}, year={2014}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ReliefPlot.html}, note=[Accessed: 01-March-2026]}

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